Better Access Initiative: Your 10 Psychology Sessions Explained

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The Better Access initiative is an Australian Government program that makes mental health care more accessible by subsidising sessions with registered psychologists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, and social workers. Once a GP or eligible clinician creates a Mental Health Care Plan for you, you can access up to 10 rebated individual sessions per calendar year, with reviews at defined points along the way. Group sessions are available in addition. The plan itself, and the review appointments that sit alongside it, are bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card at Abby.

What the Better Access initiative is

The Better Access initiative — formally, "Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the MBS" — was introduced by the Australian Government in 2006 to address a long-standing gap in mental health care: the cost of seeing a psychologist. Before Better Access, most Australians who needed psychological therapy paid the full private fee out of pocket, which meant that, for many, therapy simply wasn't accessible. Better Access changed that by bringing psychology sessions into the Medicare Benefits Schedule, provided they sit within a structured clinical plan.

The program is administered jointly by the Department of Health and Aged Care and Services Australia. The Department of Health and Aged Care publishes program guidelines, and Services Australia manages the Medicare rebates that flow through it. Better Access is one of the most significant mental health reforms in Australia in the last twenty years, and it remains the primary pathway for Medicare-rebated psychology for the majority of Australians.

How a Mental Health Care Plan unlocks the 10 sessions

You do not access Better Access sessions directly. You access them through a clinical document called a Mental Health Care Plan, or MHCP. The MHCP is a structured assessment and treatment plan prepared by a GP, psychiatrist, or paediatrician. It documents your mental health concerns, the clinical context, treatment goals, and which allied mental health professional you will be referred to. Once the MHCP is in place, it acts as the referral pathway for your rebated sessions.

Under the current framework, a completed MHCP entitles an eligible patient to up to 10 individual sessions with a registered mental health provider per calendar year, rebated under Medicare. These 10 sessions are not provided all at once — they are delivered in two blocks, with a GP review appointment between them, so that the clinical progress of the care can be considered and any adjustments to the plan can be made. Group therapy sessions, where clinically appropriate, are available separately and do not count against the 10 individual sessions.

For a detailed walkthrough of how the MHCP itself is created, what happens during the appointment, and what goes into the plan, see how to get a Mental Health Care Plan online.

Who is eligible for Better Access sessions

Eligibility for Better Access sessions rests on a clinical assessment. To access the rebated sessions, you must have a clinical mental health concern that warrants structured psychological treatment — a judgment made by the clinician preparing the MHCP. The initiative is not limited by diagnosis; a range of presentations, from anxiety and depression to adjustment difficulties and post-traumatic stress, can fall within Better Access if they meet the clinical threshold.

You must also hold a valid Medicare card. Patients on Department of Veterans' Affairs arrangements have equivalent provisions through a parallel framework. Children and adolescents are eligible with appropriate guardian involvement; in some cases, a paediatrician may prepare the MHCP instead of a GP.

There is no income test for Better Access. The program is designed as a population-level mental health intervention and applies on the same terms to every eligible patient, regardless of financial circumstances. For many of Abby's patients — including those who would otherwise not seek help because of cost — this matters enormously.

How the 10 sessions are structured across the calendar year

The 10 individual sessions are delivered in two defined blocks. You can access up to six sessions in the first block, after which you return to the GP or clinician who prepared your MHCP for a review. That review — itself a clinical consultation with its own Medicare item — considers how therapy is progressing, whether the treatment plan should be adjusted, and whether the remaining sessions should go ahead. The second block of up to four further sessions then becomes available, bringing the total to 10.

The 10-session cap resets on the first day of each calendar year. If you begin therapy in October and use four sessions before December 31, you start the new year with a full 10 sessions available — though you'll need a fresh referral or, if warranted, a new or updated plan, depending on your clinical situation.

Group sessions, as noted, are additional to the 10 individual sessions. Not every Better Access provider delivers group therapy, and group formats are only clinically appropriate for some presentations, but where they fit, they widen the care available to you without using individual session allowance.

Who can create your Mental Health Care Plan

Not every clinician can prepare an MHCP. Under the Better Access framework, MHCPs are prepared by GPs who have completed the required mental health skills training, by psychiatrists, and by paediatricians for the patients they see. Nurse Practitioners cannot currently prepare an MHCP under the standard Better Access item, although this is an area of policy discussion. In practice, for most Australians, the MHCP is prepared by their GP.

All Abby Health practitioners who prepare Mental Health Care Plans hold current AHPRA registration and have completed the required mental health skills training. The MHCP appointment itself is longer than a standard GP consultation — typically 30 to 40 minutes — because the clinical assessment and treatment planning require more time. The MHCP item number, and the review item that accompanies it, are both billed directly to Medicare and are bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card at Abby.

If you want to understand who might see you for your MHCP appointment, see who are Abby's practitioners.

Who delivers the rebated sessions themselves

Better Access rebates apply to sessions delivered by four categories of mental health provider: registered psychologists, clinical psychologists, mental health occupational therapists, and accredited mental health social workers. Each category has its own Medicare item number and its own rebate value. Clinical psychologists — who hold endorsement in clinical psychology under AHPRA — attract a higher rebate than generally registered psychologists, reflecting the additional clinical training of the endorsement.

Psychologists and allied mental health providers set their own fees. Where a provider bulk bills, the patient pays nothing for the session. Where a provider charges a private fee, Medicare rebates a fixed amount and the patient pays the difference as a gap. This is one of the most common sources of confusion about Better Access: the program provides a rebate, not a guarantee that the session will be at no cost. The MHCP and GP reviews at Abby are bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card; the downstream psychology sessions are subject to the individual psychologist's fee policy.

What telehealth means for Better Access

Better Access sessions can now be delivered by telehealth as well as in person. Permanent telehealth items exist for mental health consultations, and the program does not require a patient to attend sessions in a physical room. For patients in rural and remote areas, for patients with caring responsibilities, and for patients who simply find it easier to attend from home, telehealth Better Access sessions have widened access meaningfully.

The 12-month established-relationship rule applies differently for mental health items. The Better Access framework has its own conditions, and the standard face-to-face requirements that apply to some GP telehealth items do not map neatly onto MHCP items. See the 12-month face-to-face rule explained for the broader picture, and Medicare and telehealth: everything eligible Australians can access for the full item framework.

At Abby, your MHCP consultation can be delivered entirely by video or phone. Abby AI, our medical AI, surfaces your history and prior consultations to your clinician before the appointment, so you do not arrive at a mental health assessment having to explain everything from scratch. Abby AI does not diagnose, prescribe, or replace clinician judgment — it ensures that the clinician begins the consultation informed about you.

After the sessions: what the plan doesn't cover

Better Access is designed as a structured package of care. It is not the only mental health support available. Some patients will complete their 10 sessions and feel ready to conclude active therapy. Others will continue therapy privately with their provider. Others will need different or additional support — from psychiatry, from crisis services, or from ongoing GP-led mental health care — which sits outside the Better Access framework.

Your GP at Abby is the continuity point for all of this. If Better Access doesn't meet your clinical needs, or if you need support in addition to your rebated sessions, your clinician will talk through the options. For guidance on when and how to ask for help, see when telehealth is right for you.

For the next step in the mental health journey — the referral itself — see getting a psychology referral through Abby.

Frequently asked questions

Does Medicare pay the full psychology session fee?

Medicare rebates a fixed amount per Better Access psychology session. Where the psychologist bulk bills, the patient pays nothing. Where the psychologist charges a private fee, the patient pays the difference between the fee and the Medicare rebate. The MHCP consultation at Abby is bulk billed for eligible patients with a valid Medicare card.

Can I use the 10 sessions with more than one psychologist?

Yes, in principle — the sessions are attached to you, not locked to a single provider — but a new referral is typically required when you change providers, and it's usually clinically preferable to complete a block of care with the same psychologist. Your GP can discuss whether changing providers makes sense for your situation.

What if 10 sessions isn't enough?

If you need continued therapy beyond the 10 rebated sessions in a calendar year, your options include continuing privately with your psychologist, accessing different forms of mental health support (such as group therapy, primary mental health services, or psychiatry where appropriate), and planning for the following calendar year's allocation. Your GP can help you decide.

Is my MHCP appointment private?

Yes. Your MHCP, the clinical notes, and the details of your mental health care are held in your medical record and governed by Australia's privacy framework. Only the clinicians involved in your care, and those bound by the same confidentiality obligations, can access the record.

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